He who has information has power. Keep that in mind. How much information do people in our community have? There is a need for all Haitian Community Leaders to get together for a conference on education (in general) in their local community. Save your $$ (money), and start investing as much as possible (when you are young). Please, teach your children to do that (even before they turn eighteen). In what can I invest? That’s an important question to think of, and to debate it with others who may have some experience in the field or in business. Your time is also precious; don’t waste it. Use it well in your advantage (to work, study, and help your community by volunteering some of that time).

Many of us may have been observing the Haitian Communities (in diaspora) for many years, and there has never been any real talk on investment, teaching people how to invest, in what to invest, and how to prepare for their retirement. By lack of information, most of them remainpoor (even when some went far in school). But with good information, you can liberate yourself (economically, spiritually and intellectually) by thinking better. So, you don’t have to work so hard till you reach 65 or beyond. By the time you reach the retiring age (if you are luckly), you may not even have time to enjoy your little retirement paycheck because you’ve been living with stress all your life, and you never learn how to manage it.

If you are lucky to reach 65 and are in good health (nowadays), that’s a blessing. Being healthy is more important than being rich (and have a poor health). We mention that number a few times because most of us may not be in good health at this age in order to enjoy the fruits of our works (e.g., some may be diabetic, have high blood pressure, start showing some signs of Parkinson, or Alzheimer disease, have arthritis, etc.). You may don’t have a house or an apartment anywhere in a warm climate because you didn’t plan that in advance (not because it would cost you a lot of money), and most of you won’t go back to Haiti (to live), because it would be risky (for instance if you go there and suddenly get sick, if you have an emergency and don’t get the proper care on time you can guess what will happen to you, and insecurity may knock at your door at any moment).

(Most) Haitians in the U.S only work hard to pay bills, and send money to Haiti to help their relatives (giving them no advice how to help themselves to become economically independent). Many never enjoy going away for vacations with their family, or have never been on a boat cruise for a week (where they wouldn’t even pay too much if they book few months in advance). It’s time to open your eyes! Learn how to take care of yourself and your family! If you start investing very early, by the time you reach 40, 50, 60, not only you will be well-off (have enough money, have your own business, and be a professional at the same time), you will also live with almost no stress. Don’t forget to go back to the community (to help others who may be behind). Don’t be selfish (with good information you may have). Share your blessings with others when you are blessed.

All young people in their early twenties would love to have a nice sport car. Yeah! Nothing wrong with what you’d like to have (if you work hard for it). But think beyond that: buying an expensive car is no investment, and you don’t have any economic freedom when you are young and you must work to pay a bank monthly for your loans. Of course, you can have a car when you are young (if you need to go places, to go to work, to help your parents who may not be able to drive, and if you are planning to live on campus while in college). So, it will enable you to move around quickly; in this sense, agood used car would be good to have, and save money at the same time.

If you are planning to go to college, you must start thinking about saving money (from high school where some of you have a par-time job). At this age, you don’t have to pay rent because you are living with your parents or with relatives. It’s the best time to start saving and investing your money. You may wonder in what to invest (e.g., in money market, buying shares, investing in real estate: buying an apartment, buying a house [rent it by rooms with people your age who are responsible], get information from your school on investment, take a course on investment, get in touch with business people, attend some seminars on investment, or go to some investment firms to get informed. You won’t regret it later (when reaching 40, 50, 60 to have your economic freedom where you won’t have to work for somebody, but instead have somebody work for you /for your company).

Students who are resident of the United Sates don’t have to bother taking any loan to pay for college /university (unless if they are in real need to complete some graduate studies where they may not have any financial aid on time). Some may do that because of lack of information. For students who graduate from High School with high GPA (grade point average), who may play some sports, and who are active in school activities (where showing leadership), that can be helpful to get in some good universities on scholarships. On the other hand, if they graduate from their local high school with a “C”, average (a low one) and are good in some sports, they can still get to a (local) public college /university or a local community college(and work harder to booster their GPA). 1) When working for their local college /university, the student is entitled to at least “two free courses”. So, when living on campus, a student can think of getting a job there. 2) Depending on how much s/he is making (if working off campus), s/he can be a full-time student (taking at least 12 credits a semester, and if his/her parents don’t claim them in their income tax (and if they are 18 or older), they can be qualified for financial aid. 3) In their 3rd college year, they can use their financial aid to study abroad, pursuing studies related to their field (for a semester, a summer program, or even a full year if they’ve saved enough money (when working) or plan that a head of time.

These (international) programs can be done through American Universities (Study Abroad Programs) where students will have the credits sent to that college /university (they are attending), and can transfer them easily (before they are 7 years old by the time of the transfer). Even at some expensive private universities, many graduate students can get financial aid (if they have good grades or are in good standing (by keeping up with a total GPA of “B+” or 85%) or show advancedresearch they’ve published in their field of study (when applying). When a student who resides in a state leaves that state to go to another to attend a public university, their tuition fee will be tripled until that student completes the “residency policy of the new state” (by living there for at least one year, having a driving license in that state, and paying taxes there if working). We would encourage all Haitian students to plan to do some studies abroad if possible (it’s such a great experience to study with no stress in a new environment, to meet or work with key professors /researchers in their field of study, to learn another language and culture, or to do internships through a foreign university to broaden their horizon).

Many colleges /universities in the US have DSPs (Developmental Study Programs) for incoming minority students (who may have graduated from high school with low GPAs). These programs, in a way, may orient them during their (six week) summer program, before starting their first academic college year, and have a chance to meet with some good academic advisors. But as community leaders, we must organize talks and seminars in our community to educate parents and children, by providing them with key information needed. Their children will be more prepared for college (beforehand), knowing the right courses and programs to focus on while in high school (to prepare them for their future professional studies, and careers). (Most) students who graduate from some good high schools,prep schools, and academies (where they have taken pre-college courses) can get scholarships (since they are well-prepared academically) to attend some of the best (private) American Universities, which are expensive.

Depending on how a student feels (in term of academic preparation after graduating from high school), that student may attend a two-year college or community college(where things may not go too fast, academically speaking; that can be an opportunity to work with a private tutor for at least a full year or with some classmates to catch key subjects (such as math, and science courses) that the student may have not done or completed or didn’t know while in high school). After completing the Associate Degree (requirements), the student may work for a while or can transfer to a regular college or university to complete a Bachelor’s Degree (in two additional years), or attend graduate school (for advanced studies in a chosen field) afterward.

Lack of information can make people in our community suffer a lot. Some of us may remember the headache we had upon my arrival in the United States where we might not have anyone to give us some basic information needed or shortcuts to take to make the transition (since we don’t have a good network of knowledgeable people to orient newcomers). There is also the problem of selfishnesswithin our community where some people would try to make a “monopoly” with some information they have (they wouldn’t share it with others, fearing of empowering them). He who has information has power but that power can be used (in good ways also) to help oneself, our neighbor, others and one’s community. So, let teach leaders in our community to learn to share information, or go back to the community to help (those who are in need).

To conclude, it would be important for us to make a list or a directory ofHaitian educators, Haitian leaders,andHaitian centers(in our local community): knowing who is who, who can help with what (where), who are flexible to work (freely) as mentors to guide Haitian students and parents, and publish the information online so that anyone can access it. The more we organize ourselves, the more vibrant community we will have, and we can be a positive model for other communities also.

For young people who (may) just arrive from Haiti, keep in mind that education is your future, and the key to success. So, try your very best to be friend with people who can guide and encourage you to go to school. As resident of the United States, you have a great opportunity to attend some of the best universities of the country. It’s just a matter of information that you need to put you on the right track (e.g., who to talk to, and where to get important information to guide you).

Before leaving Haiti (if you are coming to the US as a legal resident), make sure you have copies of your (university) transcript, report cards (of secondary schools attended) so that you can have them translated to English on time. Have at least 3 (functional) email accounts (for your contacts and to stock research documents), and keep your passwords in a safe place. Depending on your age (if you are over 20, and already have your Secondary School Diploma from Haiti, all you need will be to have it translated to English in order to be used as one of the dossiers you’ll need when applying to college /university). If you want to test your ability, you may try to take the G.E.D Exam(to have the equivalency of US High School Diploma).

That exam is also offered in languages like French, Spanish, Portuguese, etc. Since most students from Haiti can’t speak English (or don’t master it) even if they had it for several years in secondary school (but it’s more theory than practice), so your first duty upon arriving in the US would be to find a good and cheap English Program for non-native speakerto master the English language (as quickly as possible) in order to make the transition at college /university level. We would recommend students to do that at a local community college, or at some good language institute (to start preparing them for core courses like: College English I, II, III) to enable to write research papers later (for their academic coursework). While in Haiti, it would be a good idea (while in secondary school) to go to a good English Language Instituteto learn English (with qualified and certified teachers) since there is no real foreign language teaching methodology of teaching in the secondary school there, and most teachers are not qualified either in their teaching area (since they are not certified or have a university degree to teach in secondary schools in Haiti).